Closing summary
This blog will be coming to a close, but you can keep following out UK politics coverage here. Here is a summary of today’s events.
Last night, Peter Mandelson has said he has resigned his membership of the Labour party to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” after more revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. This comes after Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein, featured in documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday related to the convicted sex offender.
The Lib Dems and the SNP were amongst those who called for Mandelson to be stripped of his peerage. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “It’s time now for the government to take immediate action by bringing forward legislation to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage. It is the very least they can do for the victims and survivors of his friend Jeffrey Epstein. If Mandelson has any shame left he will retire from the House of Lords today while this process gets under way.”
The Labour party revealed that Mandelson was already facing disciplinary action from the party when he announced he was resigning his membership. Labour did not explained what the grounds for disciplinary action against Mandelson were.
Darren Jones called Jeffrey Epstein “a despicable criminal who committed disgusting crimes and destroyed the lives of countless women and girls”. He told MPs that Keir Starmer is “calling on all political parties, including the Conservatives as the largest party in the House of Lords, to work with the government to modernise the disciplinary procedures to allow for removal of peers who have brought the House of Lords into disrepute”.
The Met police has said it will review any reports relating to alleged misconduct in public office, after the release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. The force said it will then decide if it meets the threshold for investigation.
Otherwise, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused prime minister Keir Starmer of being ‘supine and short-termist’ in approach to China. Badenoch said Starmer seemed to enjoy being in China. That is not surprising “for a man who was virtually a communist most of his life”, she said.
Elsewhere, the UK and EU are aiming to finalise negotiations on a youth mobility scheme within months, in time for a joint summit later this year.
Met Police says it will review ‘number’ of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office
The Met police has said it will review any reports relating to alleged misconduct in public office, after the release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. The force said it will then decide if it meets the threshold for investigation.
In a statement, commander Ella Marriott said: “We are aware of the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.
“Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.
“As with any matter, if new and relevant information is brought to our attention we will assess it, and investigate as appropriate.”
Updated
WhatsApp messages seen by BBC News appear to show small group of Labour MPs criticising the government’s handling of the row over Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier today, officials from No 10 outlined the government’s position on the matter in a WhatsApp group of Labour MPs.
They said: “It’s right that Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and had he not done so, the party was actively looking at what action could be taken.”
One Labour MP replied: “That line on Peter Mandelson is no way strong enough.”
Another said: “Agree. Surely had he not resigned the party would have suspended him pending expulsion given the seriousness of conduct.”
Updated
UK and EU set to agree youth mobility scheme within months
The EU are aiming to finalise negotiations on a youth mobility scheme within months, in time for a joint summit later this year, PA reports.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and European commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said both sides would seek to conclude talks in time for the annual summer after a meeting in London on Monday. There has not yet been a date announced for the second EU-UK summit, however it is thought it could take place in late spring or early summer.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has expressed a desire for each of the summits, established as part of the Government’s so-called “reset” of post-Brexit relations with Brussels, to bring with it new agreements.
A youth mobility scheme would make it easier for young people in the UK to work for a period in EU countries and vice versa. It is one of the areas that have been a key European demand in reaching an economic deal with Britain.
Last year, chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Times that a youth mobility scheme would be “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business”, but stopped short of specifying who would be eligible.
In a joint statement after the latest meeting of the EU-UK Partnership Council, the two sides said: “The UK and the EU recalled that the Common Understanding led to a number of negotiations for new agreements.
“They aim to conclude by the time of the next EU-UK summit the negotiations on the youth experience scheme, on establishing a common sanitary and phytosanitary area and on linking their emissions trading systems.”
In the Commons Richard Foord (Lib Dem) asked if there was any further evidence of Peter Mandelson lobbying against the interests of the government when he was in office.
Jones said an investigation is taking place. He said any minister acting like that now would be “quickly dismissed”.
That is all from me for today. Aneesa Ahmed is now taking over.
Andrew Murrison (Con) said it is rare for non-diplomats to be appointed ambassadors. When people like this are appointed, the PM must take responsibility. He suggested this reflected very badly on Keir Starmer.
Chris Law (SNP) said Labour has been promising Lords reform for more than 100 years. He told Jones that the Lords should be abolished instead.
Alicia Kearns (Con) said Jones was wrong to say that Tories did not object to Peter Mandelson being made an ambassador. She objected, she said.
She asked if Mandelson was given a severance payment after he was sacked.
Jones said he would ensure that Kearns got a reply to the letter she sent to the Cabinet Office about this.
Tom Tugendhat (Con) said that Peter Mandelson was not the only member of the Lords with connections to a convicted paedophile. He said the same could be said of Matthew Doyle, Keir Stamer’s former communications chief who was recently made a peer.
Ministers should be demanding criminal investigation into Mandelson, says Reform UK's Robert Jenrick
Back in the Commons Robert Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary who has now joined Reform UK, said he was surprised that Jones was not able to announce legislation removing Mandelson’s peerage. He also said the government should be going to the police and demanding a criminal investigation.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the PM, said that, when Jenrick was a Conservative party member and Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the US, the Tories did not object to the appointment.
Aide whose memo to Brown was leaked to Epstein says Mandelson's conduct 'very disappointing and shocking'
Nick Butler, a former adviser to Gordon Brown who wrote one of the memos leaked by Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein (see 12.41pm), told Times Radio that he was very disappointed to learn what the then business secretary had done.
Butler said:
I find these revelations very disappointing and shocking. When you work in Number 10, you work in an environment where there has to be complete trust so that people can debate and kick around ideas completely openly.
I don’t think any of the people who I worked with would have expected that a very senior minister like Peter would be sending on our notes instantly to someone outside the government, presumably so that they could make money. I feel very let down by Peter.
Butler said there should be a full inquiry.
How many more messages on really important issues, important issues on which Epstein could have made a lot of money? How many messages were sent in that period?
Butler also said Mandelson should now permanently resign from the Lords.
Here is the exchange showing the memo being leaked.
And you can read the full Butler memo here.
Christopher Chope (Con) said asked Jones if he agreed that the “deep involvement of Mandelson with Epstein” meant that Epstein’s victims may have included, not just women and girls, but “young men” too.
Jones said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on a hypothetical question of that kind.
Simon Hoare (Con) urged the goverment to legislate to remove Mandelson’s peerage. He said a bill could be “rushed through this house in a day”; it would not have to be complex, he said.
Jones said there was already a queue of legislation waiting to be passed.
That was why the government thought it would be better for Lords to put in place a new system that could apply to all peers, he said.
(But Jones is referring to a process that would allow the authorities to remove people from the Lords. MPs want a process to remove Mandelson’s peerage. The two sanctions are not the same.)
Jones implies Mandelson lied in his declaration of interests before his appointment as ambassador
Clive Efford (Lab) asked Jones who advised the PM before he was made an ambassador.
Jones said the goverment had strengthened the appoinments process.
But he went on to imply Mandelson lied before his appointment when he submitted a declaration of interests.
The key thing, though, is when someone lies in their declaration of interests, there must be a consequence.
Updated
Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dem spokesperson, said that Mandelson should lose his peerage. He also asked why Mandelson was being allowed to remain a member of the privy council.
Jones claimed the Commons has taken efforts to modernise its disciplinary procedures i in recent years. But the House of Lords has not, he said. He said that was why the government has written to the Lords authorities urging them to act.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee, said that Mandelson should be investigated by the police.
Jones said criminal investigations were a matter for the police and the CPS.
Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, replied to Darren Jones on behalf of the Conservatives. After condemning Mandelson, he asked why Keir Starmer was not properly told about Mandelson’s links with Epstein before he was made an ambassador.
Jones said that Mandelson was responsible for his own conduct. And he said Labour was using vetting procedures it inherited from the Conservatives.
Jones urges Tories to join cross-party bid to change Lords rules so peers like Mandelson can be removed
Jones told MPs that Keir Starmer is “calling on all political parties, including the Conservatives as the largest party in the House of Lords, to work with the government to modernise the disciplinary procedures to allow for removal of peers who have brought the House of Lords into disrepute”.
Mandelson's conduct with Epstein 'unequivocally wrong' and 'far below standard expected of any minister', Jones says
Jones says Jeffrey Epstein was “a despicable criminal who committed disgusting crimes and destroyed the lives of countless women and girls”.
He goes on:
On Friday, the Department of Justice in the United States released around 3 million pages from the case files relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
It is increasingly clear that his awful crimes involved and were facilitated by many, often powerful people, both by actively participating in the crimes but also by failing to hear those victims’ voices, by equalting wealth with integrity, and by not using one’s privileged position to speak out.
He says it is incument on people who hold elected office to behave in a way that builds up trust.
He says the documents highlighted Epstein’s relationship with Peter Mandelson.
For the avoidance of doubt, this information was not known by the government until the release of documents by the Department of Justice on Friday.
The nature of the documents also raised serious concerns about Peter Mandelson’s behaviour.
Whilst Peter Mandelson must account for his actions and conduct, it is an understatement to say that his decision to continue a close relationship with a convicted paedophile, including discussing private government business, falls far below the standards expected of any minister. His behaviour was unequivocally wrong and an insult to the women and girls who suffered.
No government minister of any political party should have, nor ever should behave in this way.
Jones says the PM has ordered the cabinet secretary to investigate Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein when he was a cabinet minister and “to report back to him as a matter of urgency”.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to PM, makes statement to MPs about Epstein files
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, is now making a statement to MPs about the Epstein files.
Resident doctors in England vote to continue industrial action for another six months
Resident doctors in England have voted in favour of continuing industrial action over the next six months, the British Medical Association has announced.
Commenting on the ballot resut, a Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
On top of a 28.9% pay rise over the last three years, this government is continuing to work with the BMA to address the issues resident doctors face in their careers, including fast-tracking legislation to prioritise home grown medical graduates for specialty training places.
The government has been in intensive and constructive discussions with the BMA resident doctors committee since the start of the new year to try and bring an end to the damaging cycle of strikes and avoid further unnecessary disruption for patients and NHS staff.
We hope that these talks result in an agreement that works for everyone, so that there is not any more strike action by resident doctors in 2026.
In response to a question from Kieran Mullan (Con), who asked Starmer to name a single benefit Hongkongers would get from his trip, Starmer again called the Tory stance on China “pathetic” and “unserious”. He said the opposition kept asking him to raise issues with the Chinese. But the one thing they could not accept was Starmer actually going to China to discuss these matters with its leaders.
Starmer does not deny raising concerns about 'kill switches' in Chinese solar panels during talks in Beijing
Greg Smith (Con) asked Starmer if he raised the question of “kill switches” being installed in Chinese solar panels – ie secret components that would allow them to be deactivated remotely by the Chinese.
Starmer said he raised all the sensitive issues, “in direct terms and in the room”.
Starmer suggests Russian involvement in Reform UK goes beyond Nathan Gill case
Alex Barros-Curtis (Lab) asked Starmer to condemn Nathan Gill, the Reform UK leader in Wales, for taking bribes on behalf of Russia.
Starmer said Barros-Curtis was right to raise this case. And he said that Nigel Farage was not interested in finding out if that was the extent of Russian influence in Reform UK, “which it won’t be”.
Starmer says Tory attacks on his decision to engage with Chinese 'pathetic'
Alicia Kearns (Con) criticised Starmer of not mentioning in his statement the fact that one of the people he met on his trip was the official accused of overseeing the alleged Chinese spying operation in parliament.
In response, Starmer said the Tory criticisms were “pathetic”. He said he raised these issues with the China. He says the Conservatives seemed to think they could raise these issues by doing nothing about them.
Back in the Commons, in response to a question from Julian Lewis (Con), Starmer said the Conservatives’ position seems to be that “if one has concerns in relation to China … the pragmatic thing to do is to buy a pack of sand and put your head in it”.
Plaid Cymru joins Lib Dems and SNP in calling for police investigation into leaking by Mandelson
Plaid Cymru has joined the Lib Dems and the SNP in calling for a police investigation into Peter Mandelson. Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid leader at Westminster, said:
The latest revelations relating to Peter Mandelson are profoundly serious and cannot be brushed aside as a political embarrassment or left to internal party discipline.
Losing the Labour whip alone does not deliver accountability for a scandal of this gravity.
The evidence now in the public domain raises serious questions about the handling of sensitive information while Mandelson held senior public office, and intensify questions about the nature of his relationship with a convicted paedophile.
Where there is a credible basis to suspect potential misconduct in public office, the response must be independent, transparent and rigorous.
In the interests of public confidence and the integrity of public office, I am joining calls for a formal police investigation. No individual who has held high office should be beyond proper scrutiny, and the public deserves clear answers.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, asks Starmer to apologise to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for appointing Peter Mandelson ambassador to Washington. And he asks if Starmer backs a police inquiry into Mandelson.
Starmer says only the SNP could ignore the tariffs on Scotch whisky being halved, and instead ask about something not relevant to the trip.
Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary, says he thinks Starmer was right to go to China.
That is not Badenoch’s view.
He asks if Starmer just deliverd a written note about Jimmy Lai.
Starmer says of course he did not. He raised the issue properly.
Luke Taylor (Lib Dem) asks what Starmer was told about Jimmy Lai. And he asks about the Chinese said about the transational repression aimed at Chinese people living in the UK.
Starmer says both these issues were raised. He does not say what the Chinese said. But he said the government passed on information to Lai’s family.
Edward Leigh (Con), the father of the house, told Starmer that he should have told President Xi that China would not be getting its embassy in London unless it stopped spying on Britain, gave guarantees about the Chagos Islands and released Jimmy Lai.
Stamer said the Tories seemed to be implying he could help Jimmy Lai by not going to China, where he was actually able to raise Lai’s case.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, also accused Starmer of dealing with the Chinese from a position of weakness.
And he asked if Starmer would back legislation to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage.
In response, Starmer said that, because he want to China, he was able to engage on issues like Jimmy Lai. He said there was no point politicians just “shouting” about issues, in the way he implied Davey was proposing.
He did not address the question about Mandelson.
In his response to Badenoch, Starmer said that, if the Tory leader were serious about security issues, she would have attended the briefing she was offered about the Chinese super-embassy. But she didn’t. Instead, she sent Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary. Starmer said that was a “double dereliction of duty”.
Starmer says Badenoch attended a protest outside the embassy site. He said, as opposition leader, he stopped his party being a protest party. Badenoch is taking her party in the opposite direction, he said.
Badenoch accuses Starmer of being 'supine and short-termist' in approach to China
Kemi Badenoch is responding to Starmer now. And she starts by saying it is “utterly reprehensible” that Starmer started his statement by accusing the last government of “isolationism”.
She claims the last Tory government led the world in its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And she cites trade deals signed by the last goverment of it being outward looking.
On China, she says of course Britain should engage. She goes on:
It is not the prime minister engaging with China that we take issue with. What we are criticising is his supine and short-termist approach.
I am sure the prime minister means well, but his negotiating tactic has always been to give everything away in the hope that people will be nice to him in return.
Badenoch says Starmer seemed to enjoy being in China. That is not surprising “for a man who was virtually a communist most of his life”, she says.
She says the Scotch whisky industry needs cheaper energy and lower taxes, not tariffs.
She says many countries already have visa-free travel with China.
And she says the lifting of sanctions on parliamentarians will have no practical impact.
She goes on:
What did his chief trip achieve for Jimmy Lai? Nothing. Did China promise to stop fuelling Putin’s war machine in Ukraine? Doesn’t sound like it. What did this trip achieve for the Uyghurs who are being enslaved? Absolutely nothing. Have China agreed to stop their relentless cyber attacks? Have they? We all know the answer to that.
The reality is that China showed its strength and Britain was pushed around. It is no wonder President XI praised the Labour party because the conservatives stood up for Britain. We don’t get pushed around.
Starmer says he urged China to end economic support for Russia's war in Ukraine during his trip
Starmer criticised his three immediate Tory predecessors for not meeting Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
It was right to engage with China, he said. Engagement “makes us stronger”.
But that did not mean that he was dropping security concerns about China, he said. “The fact is we can do two things at once.”
Starmer said in his talks he raised the case of Jimmy Lai, the democracy campaign imprisoned in Hong Kong. He said that he raised human rights concerns in Xinjiang and Tibet. He discussed Taiwan.
And he called on China to end economic support for Russia’s war effort, including companies providing dual use technologies.
Starmer makes statement to MPs about his trip to China and Japan
In the Commons Keir Starmer is making a statement about his trip to China and Japan.
There is extensive Guardian coverage of the China trip here.
And here is an article by Rowena Mason about the deals that were firmed up or agreed during the trip.
Updated
Peter Mandelson gave Jeffrey Epstein advance notice about the timing of the announcement of the €500bn bailout to save the Euro, Steven Swinford from the Times reports.
The latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. It features Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discussing Peter Mandelson.
SNP writes to Met police calling for criminal investigation into evidence Mandelson leaked market sensitive information
The SNP is also calling for a police investigation into Peter Mandelson.
In a letter to Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says:
I write to inform you of potential criminal misconduct regarding Lord Peter Mandelson – specifically the offence of misconduct in public office which, if proven, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment …
In recent days, following the release by the US Department of Justice of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, serious allegations are now emerging as to sensitive, state information that may have been passing between Mandelson and Epstein. These published emails, many of which occurred in the midst and aftermath of the financial crash, appear to suggest that market sensitive information was being shared with Jeffrey Epstein – a billionaire, convicted paedophile. The files also suggest that Mandelson and his family may also have been in receipt of significant amounts of money from Epstein.
If such allegations are investigated and proven, it is gravely serious – for Peter Mandelson, for the Labour prime ministers who appointed him and for the UK government as a whole. That is why I believe it is now clearly in the public interest that all of these newly released emails and files, and Mandelson’s entire period in UK Labour governments, must now be criminally investigated.
The grounds for such a criminal investigation are already well established in law.
In attorney general’s Reference No 3 of 2003 [2004] EWCA Crim 868 the court said that the misconduct must amount to:
“… an affront to the standing of the public office held. The threshold is a high one requiring conduct so far below acceptable standards as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder.”
These widespread allegations and the suspicion of criminal activity need to be urgently addressed; I therefore believe it is now essential that a formal, criminal investigation is now initiated by the Metropolitan police.
Gordon Brown calls for inquiry into 'shocking' leaking by Mandelson of government information when he was PM
Gordon Brown, who was prime minister when Peter Mandelson passed at least one confidential memo addressed to him to Jeffrey Epstein (see 12.41pm), has described the leak as “shocking” and written to the cabinet secretary demanding an inquiry.
In a statement, Brown says:
I have today asked the cabinet secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then business department during the global financial crisis.
On September 10 last year, I wrote to the cabinet secretary to ask him to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers about the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.
That enquiry led to a response on November 19 that no departmental record could be found of any information or communication from Lord Mandelson to Mr Epstein on these issues.
Given the shocking new information that has come to light in the latest tranche of Epstein papers, including information about the transfer to Mr Epstein of at least one highly sensitive government document as well as other highly confidential information, I have now written to ask for a wider and more intensive inquiry to take place into the wholly unacceptable disclosure of government papers and information during the period when the country was battling the global financial crisis.
Given the public interest in this, I have asked that the results of the inquiry be published and done so as soon as possible.
Brown and Mandelson was close friends and allies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when New Labour was taking shape. They fell out bitterly when Mandelson backed Tony Blair, not Brown, for Labour leader in 1994. In 2008 Brown stunned Westminster when he persuaded Mandelson to quit his job as a European commissioner and return to cabinet. The two men had a good working relationship until the 2010 election, but then fell out again over who was to blame for Labour’s defeat.
The revelation that Brown asked for an investigation in September last year into potential leaking by Mandelson is new. Brown says he was told that “no departmental record could be found of any information or communication from Lord Mandelson to Mr Epstein on these issues”. But that is not surprising, and it suggests the investigation was not very thorough. When cabinet ministers leak information, they tend not to use their work email accounts.
Faisal Islam, the BBC’s economics editor, has written a good article about the conversation Alistair Darling had with Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan chief executive, about the proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses in 2009. Islam says Darling, who is now dead, told him about the “painful and angry” call. Darling also wrote about it in his memoir. Darling said:
Mr Dimon was very, very angry ... he said that his bank bought a lot of UK debt and he wondered if that was now such a good idea. I pointed out that they bought our debt because it was a good business deal for them. He went on to say they were thinking of building a new office in London but they had to reconsider that now.
Referring to the news that, if Dimon was being “threatening”, it was because he was advised to do so by Mandelson (see 9.38am), Islam says:
That this may have been orchestrated partly via Epstein, with Mandelson emailing advice, while Britain’s business secretary sitting on the financial crisis cabinet of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is staggering.
Islam has posted a longer extract about the call from Darling’s book on social media.
Ed Davey calls for police investigation into Mandelson over 'potential misconduct in public office'
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says Peter Mandelson should be investigated over a potential misconduct in public office offence. Davey says:
The Epstein files suggest Peter Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to a convicted sex offender while serving as a minister, and even suggested a US bank should threaten the government to lower its tax bill.
These allegations are incredibly serious, it is now only right that the police investigate Peter Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office.
(While misconduct in public office is in theory a wide-ranging offence, as this CPS briefing explains, it tends to get used to prosecute officials, not politicians.)
Mandelson engaged in 'shocking' betrayal by leaking information to Epstein, says Labour peer
Catherine MacLeod, a former special adviser to Alistair Darling who is now a Labour peer, has said that it was “awful” to learn that Peter Mandelson was advising banks how lobby against a tax on bonuses being proposed by Darling when he was chancellor.
Referring to the revelation that Mandelson, via Jeffrey Epstein, suggested that it would be good for JP Morgan to “mildly threaten” Darling (see 9.38am), MacLeod told Radio 4’s the World at One:
It is awful that one of Alistair Darling’s colleagues was suggesting this … Quite a lot of important and influential bankers employed whatever tactics they thought would get them somewhere with Alistair Darling.
She also said that revelations about Mandelson leaking internal government information when he was business secretary to Epstein were “absolutely shocking”. (See 12.41pm.) She said that this amounted to “betrayal” and that Mandelson was letting down his colleagues. “There is nothing that can be said in its defence.”
A vast trove of Epstein documents has been released in the US, and reporters are still going through them. One shows Mandelson forwarding a memo written by one special adviser to Gordon Brown, the then PM, to Epstein. There is at least one other example of Epstein having a business-related internal goverment memo from around this time, without it being clear how Epstein obtained it.
Updated
Darren Jones, chief secretary to PM, to make statement to MPs about Epstein files
Keir Starmer is making a statement in the Commons on his trip to China and Japan at 3.30pm. But there may be more interest in the statement coming afterwards (from around 5pm?). It’s from Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, and it is about “the release of files by the US Department of Justice”, ie the Epstein files.
EU signals readiness to talk with UK on closer economic integration at summit 'soon'
But the EU has indicated that it is ready to talk to the UK about closer economic links with soon, Jakub Krupa reports on his Europe live blog.
Paula Pinho, chief spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters today:
Our single market is really one of the treasures of the EU or, if I were to put it into a British context, it’s really the jewel of the crown, right?
So we very much appreciate that these advantages of the single market are recognised by prime minister Starmer.
Now, we will be having a summit with UK soon, I understand there’s not a final date yet agreed, but this will be the occasion to discuss with UK what, exactly they, have in mind, and how they propose to go about it.
So that’s all we can say for the moment.
The EU has declined to comment on suggestions that the UK could restart its push to be associated with the SAFE, or Security Action for Europe, plan, as proposed by Keir Starmer over the weekend. Jakub Krupa has details on his Europe live blog.
Updated
Key event
Nick Macpherson, who was permanent secretary at the Treasury from 2005 to 2016 and who is now a member of the House of Lords, has said that it is “breathtaking” to see how City banks were getting information via Jeffrey Epstein.
Commenting on one of the emails flagged up by the tax campaigner Dan Neidle (see 12.41pm), Macpherson said:
Alistair Darling and the official Treasury were always aware that investment banks had an inside track to Number 10. But the brazen nature of that inside track is rather breath-taking.
At the lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson did not give details of how Keir Starmer would like the Lords to toughen up its disciplinary rules. He just said “we want to work with the Lords to modernise the disciplinary procedures and make it easier to remove lords who have brought the house into disrepute”.
Asked if the PM wanted these new procedures to be retrospective, the spokesperson said that he had set out Keir Starmer’s view about not wanting Mandelson to remain in the Lords. (See 12.44pm.)
No 10 says PM wants Mandelson permanently removed from Lords - but won't commit to legislation taking away his peerage
Keir Starmer would like Peter Mandelson to be permanently removed from the House of Lords, Downing Street has said.
Starmer also believes that Mandelson should no longer use his title.
But the PM has stopped short of backing calls for Mandelson to be formally stripped of his title – something that would require primary legislation, and which has not been done since the first world war.
Although having a life peerage is generally seen as being synonymous with being a member of the House of Lords, in practice they are different. It is theoretically possible for someone to be expelled from the Lords for life while remaining a peer.
The spokesperson also said that the cabinet secretary has been asked to review all of Mandelson’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein while he was a cabinet minster.
At the daily lobby briefing this morning, asked about calls for Mandelson to have his peerage reviewed, the PM’s spokesperson said:
The prime minister has asked for this to be urgently looked at. And the prime minister believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title.
However the prime minister does not have the power to remove it.
He is calling on those in the Lords to work with the government to modernise disciplinary procedures in the house to allow for the easier removal of lords who have brought the house into disrepute.
The prime minister has asked the cabinet secretary [Chris Wormald] to review all available information regarding Peter Mandeslon’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during his period as a government minister, and to report back to him.
The spokesperson also said that, if Mandelson is called to testify before the US Congress about Epstein, he should. He said:
On the issue of testifying, the prime minister has always said that anyone who’s got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that, because you can’t be victim centred if you are not prepared to do that.
Under a law passed in 2014, any member of the Lords who is jailed for at least a year already loses their membership
And, under a law passed in 2015, the conduct committee has the power, not just to recommend that a peer be suspended from the Lords for breaking the code of conduct, but to be expelled permanently. The committee did recommend expulsion in 2020 in the case of a peer accused of sexually exploiting a woman, but the peer, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, announced he was retiring from parliament before the recommendation could be put to a vote.
At the lobby briefing the spokesperson did not give details of how Starmer would like these arrangements to be changed.
The spokesperson repeatedly said that Starmer does not have the power to remove Mandelson’s peerage. While this is true, because removing a peerage would require primary legislation, it is the government that decides what bills are debated by parliament.
Legislation to remove a peerage has not been passed since the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 and this bill did not deal with an individual; instead, it targeted a handful of Germans and Austrians who had peerages as a result of British heritage and who were supporting the enemy in the war.
The government believes there is no precedent for a bill being passed to remove a peerage from an individual.
Updated
Mandelson leaked government plans to Epstein, email says
Peter Mandelson “leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans”, the Financial Times is reporting.
In his story, Jim Pickard says:
The memo, dubbed “Business Issues”, was written on June 13 2009 by Nick Butler, who at the time was special adviser to the then prime minister Gordon Brown.
The confidential document, which was released by the US Department of Justice as part of a tranche of millions of files relating to Epstein, had been sent to British government officials including cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood.
The memo called for a boost to private sector investment in the wake of the financial crash via tax incentives.
Dan Neidle, the tax campaigner, has posted the relevant document, and others, on social media.
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Mandelson was facing Labour disciplinary action before he resigned his membership, party reveals
Peter Mandelson was facing already disciplinary action from the Labour party when he announced he was resigning his membership, the party has revealed.
A Labour party spokesperson said:
It is right that Peter Mandelson is no longer a member of the Labour party. Disciplinary action was underway prior to his resignation.
Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous crimes destroyed the lives of so many women and girls, and our thoughts remain with his victims.
Since this disciplinary inquiry was an internal, party one, the fact that Mandelson is no longer a member is likely to bring it to a halt. Labour has no sanction over people who are not members.
Mandelson is currently on leave of absence from the Lords, which means he is not entitled to participate in its proceedings. But there is nothing to stop him re-activating his membership, if he wants to do so, and until this weekend Labour was refusing to say whether or not Mandelson would be entitled to take the Labour whip were he to return.
Labour has not explained what the grounds for disciplinary action against Mandelson were. But, like other parties, Labour has wide-ranging powers to take action against members who bring the party into disrepute, as Mandelson arguably has done through his Epstein connections.
Badenoch says inquiry into Mandelson should look at case for removing him from Lords
Kemi Badenoch has said that removing Peter Mandelson from the House of Lords should be considered as part of the investigation she is calling for into how he was appointed ambassador to Washington. (See 10.06am.)
Speaking to broadcasters this morning, Badenoch said:
I think there is a lot that needs to be looked into, including investigating how he ever came to be appointed, and all levers which can be pulled in order to remove him from public office looked into, including removal from the House of Lords.
This sounds like half hearted bandwagon-jumping. There is no need to remove Mandelson from public office because he does not hold any posts that would count as public office anyway. Although technically a member of the House of Lords, he is on leave of absence, which means he is not eligible to participate in its proceedings. He still has his peerage; but having a peerage does not come with a requirement to attend the Lords or take part in its proceedings, which is one of the many reasons they are so popular with ex-MPs and political donors.
Other honours – such as honorary freedom of the borough of Hartlepool, which Mandelson (who was MP for the town) lost in October – can be taken away quite easily. But removing Mandelson’s peerage would require an act of parliament. (See 10.06am.)
Free breakfast clubs are to be rolled out to hundreds more primary schools, as the government urges headteachers to apply to the scheme, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Department for Education (DfE) said 300,000 more children will benefit from the programme in April, when more than 500 schools join.
It said children in schools already in the scheme are benefiting from healthy breakfasts and being in school earlier, with evidence showing improved attendance, attainment and behaviour.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Free breakfast clubs are revolutionising morning routines up and down the country, becoming an essential part of modern-day life for working families.
“From settling a child into the school day to helping parents get to work, free breakfast clubs are giving every child the best start in life – delivering on our plan for national renewal.
“I was raised by a single parent, so I know first-hand the struggles facing parents trying to make ends meet and how important it is to tackle outdated stigmas with practical support that people can feel every day.”
More than half of 2024 Labour voters in Wales won't vote for party in Senedd elections, poll suggests
Bethan McKernan has written a good feature for the Guardian today on the plight of Labour in Wales, and how Plaid Cymru is leading the fight against Reform UK.
More in Common has released some new polling on voter opinion in Wales which confirms that it is looking bleak for Labour ahead of the Senedd elections in May. Only 38% of people who voted Labour at the general election in 2024 say they would vote the party now, the poll says.
More in Common also says that, among people who voted Labour two years ago but would not back the party now, almost half of them say they would never vote for the party again (25%) or that they would not vote for it at least for another 10 years (20%).
Olivia Bailey, an education minister, was giving interviews on behalf of the government this morning. Asked if she agreed that Peter Mandelson should have his peerage removed, she said “the reality of the removal of a peerage is a complicated one”. But she said Mandelson was not currently attending the House of Lords, and “I do understand that he does not intend to return.”
Lib Dems join SNP in calling for Mandelson to be stripped of peerage
The Liberal Democrats have joined the SNP (see 10.06am) in saying that Peter Mandelson should be deprived of his peerage.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said:
It’s time now for the government to take immediate action by bringing forward legislation to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage. It is the very least they can do for the victims and survivors of his friend Jeffrey Epstein.
If Mandelson has any shame left he will retire from the House of Lords today while this process gets under way.
Starmer confirms he wants to see Angela Rayner back in government 'at right point', saying she is 'fantastic asset'
Keir Starmer has confirmed that he wants to see Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, back in government.
In an interview with Times Radio broadcast this morning, Starmer described her as a “fantastic asset for the Labour party”.
Rayner resigned in September last year after it emerged that she had inadvertently paid too little stamp duty when she bought a flat in Hove.
Starmer said that, at the time, he made it clear that he would like to see her back, and he confirmed that in his interview. He said:
I would like to have Angela back at the right point. I’ve always been clear she has a future role to play …
She played a huge part in the achievement that we got at the last election, getting elected. We’ve just passed the Employment Rights Act, which has got her fingerprints all over it.
Rayner would be “a big voice in the future, as well as the past”, he said.
Tories and SNP call for inquiry into how Mandelson came to be appointed ambassador given Epstein links
Opposition parties are calling for an inquiry into how Peter Mandelson came to be appointed ambassador to Washington in the light of the new Epstein revelations, and the peer’s resignation from the Labour party.
A Conservative party spokesperson said:
Lord Mandelson is competely disgraced. Yet Keir Starmer lacked the backbone to take action, allowing Mandelson to resign from the Labour party instead of kicking him out.
Keir Starmer and his chief of staff [Morgan McSweeney] appointed Mandelson ambassador despite his relationship with Epstein, and then refused to act even as the mountain of evidence against him grew.
Given the prime minister’s appalling lack of judgment and the participation of his Downing Street operation, there must now be a full and thorough independent investigation.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, has written an open letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, the PM’s ethics adviser, asking for an investigation. In the letter Flynn says:
The current prime minister, Keir Starmer, appointed Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States of America, prior to that he was appointed to the House of Lords and to the cabinet by a previous Labour prime minister, Gordon Brown and prior to that he was a member of several British cabinets under Tony Blair.
Given the serious allegations that are still emerging regarding the extent of the relationship, political influence, and financial hold the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein had over Lord Mandelson – there is an urgent need for a full and swift investigation into Peter Mandelson’s conduct in public life and importantly – particularly in terms of your own remit – how and why he was ever appointed to high office by these Labour prime ministers.
Last month the SNP called for Mandelson to be stripped of his peerage over his Epstein links. It requires an act of parliament for someone to lose a peerage, and this has not happened since the first world war, when legislation was passed to remove peerages from a handful for Germans and Austrians who had peerages as a result of British heritage.
Mandelson quits Labour as Epstein documents reveal he urged bank to ‘threaten’ Labour chancellor over banker tax
Good morning. Peter Mandelson’s career in politics appears to be over. To be fair, journalists have written this at least four times before. But this time it may actually turn out to be true.
It was my former Guardian colleague David Hencke who first wrote a story in 1998 about a career-ending Mandelson scandal. It involved an undisclosed loan from a millionaire, and Mandelson resigned as trade secretary. Three years later Mandelson was back in cabinet, as Northern Ireland secretary, when he had to resign again, over another story involving a favour and a rich person (this time a billionaire – Mandelson’s appetite for scandal has been upwardly mobile). After a stint as a European commissioner, he returned to cabinet and it was assumed that Labour’s defeat in the 2010 general election would finish his politcal career. “All of us believe in dignity in retirement,” said Ed Miliband, the incoming Labour leader, explaining why he would not be giving Mandelson a job.
But Keir Starmer did give Mandelson a job – a dream one, ambassador to the US. In September Mandelson was sacked over his past links with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex offender. And last night, as further revelations about his dealing with Epstein came to light, Mandelson resigned from the Labour party.
Here is our overnight story, by Alexandra Topping and Pippa Crerar.
For Mandelson, dignity in retirement has clearly not been achieved; the story is illustrated with a picture, from the Epstein files, showing the peer in his underpants.
As Mandelson explained in his statement last night, he says is quitting the party primarily because of the embarassment caused by documents in the files suggesting Epstein paid him $75,000. Mandelson believes this claim this false, and that the documentation is not accurate.
But he has not contested another revelation that has emerged in the Epstein files, showing that in 2009 he advised Epstein on how JP Morgan, the investment bank, should lobby his cabinet colleague Alistair Darling, the then chancellor, against a proposed tax on bankers’ bonsuses.
As Jim Pickard reports in his story for the Financial Times, Epstein emailed Mandelson to ask if the new tax might only apply to the cash portion of bonuses. Pickard says:
Mandelson responded within minutes: “Trying hard to amend as I explained to Jes last night. Treasury digging in but I am on case.” Epstein replied with: “let me know before jes please”, in an apparent reference to Jes Staley, then a senior banker at JP Morgan.
Two days later on December 17, Epstein emailed Mandelson asking whether Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, should “call darling one more time?”
Mandelson replied, saying: “Yes and mildly threaten.”
Mandelson told the Financial Times:
Every UK and international bank was making the same argument about the impact on UK financial services. My conversations in government at the time reflected the views of the sector as a whole, not a single individual.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, are on a visit in London.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Morning: Nick Thomas-Symonds, the EU relations minister, holds a meeting with his EU counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič. Šefčovič also has a meeting with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Peter Kyle, the business secretary.
2.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: Keir Starmer is expected to make a statement to MPs about his trip to China.
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